intro to bot

• Botany is the study of plant structure, function, and evolution, with specialties including morphology, physiology, systematics, and genetics
• Systematics in botany involves the identification, classification, and evolutionary relationships of plants, often using reproductive parts like flowers and cones
• Genetics in botany studies inheritance, variation, and the mechanisms controlling the transmission of characteristics from parents to offspring
• Food plants include grains like rice, wheat, and corn, legumes such as soybeans and peanuts, root crops like cassava and sweet potatoes, stem crops like potatoes and sugar cane, and fruits like bananas and coconuts
• Forages are plants consumed by livestock, with alfalfa being a chief forage plant in the US, rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals
• Cabbage is an important plant leaf in human diet, providing bulk, vitamins, and minerals
• Lumber from forest trees is used for fuel, furniture, houses, cabinets, boxes, and paper making
• Fiber plants like cotton and jute provide natural fibers, while rayon is a cellulosic fiber spun into thread
• Beverage plants include coffee, tea, and cinnamon plants, providing drinks like coffee, tea, and cinnamon powder
• Medicinal plants like opium poppy, marijuana, and quinine from cinchona bark have been used for pain relief, stimulation, and malaria treatment
• Chrysanthemum is a chief source of the insecticide pyrethrum, while antibiotics like penicillin inhibit the growth or kill other organisms
• Tobacco is used in cigarette manufacturing, and rubber is obtained from the treated latex of the Hevea brasiliensis tree
• Botany is the study of plant structure, function, and evolution, with specialties like morphology, physiology, systematics, and genetics
• Morphology in botany focuses on plant form, structure, and development, while physiology studies the processes within a plant, including nutrition and growth
• Systematics in botany involves the identification, classification, and evolutionary relationships of plants, often using reproductive parts like flowers and cones
• Genetics in botany studies inheritance and variation, including how characteristics are transmitted from parents to offspring
• Food plants include grains like rice, wheat, and corn, legumes such as soybeans and peanuts, root crops like cassava and sweet potatoes, and stem crops like sugar cane and potatoes
• Fruits like bananas and coconuts, leaves like cabbage, and forages for livestock are also important food plants
• Lumber from forest trees is used for fuel, furniture, houses, cabinets, and paper making
• Fiber plants like cotton and jute provide natural fibers, while medicinal plants include opium poppy for morphine and marijuana for stimulation
• Medicinal plants also include quinine from cinchona bark for malaria and chrysanthemum as a source of the insecticide pyrethrum
• Antibiotics like penicillin, tobacco for cigarettes, and rubber from latex are among the few other useful plants